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Managing Vines for Sun Exposure and Quality of the Crop

Managing Vines for Sun Exposure and Quality of the Crop. Tom Plocher www.petitepearlplus.com. The Holy Grail: Uniformity of the Crop. Bad Vine Management. Over ripe berries: High alcohol Odd flavors (foxy; robitussin) Flat and flabby (acid blown out).

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Managing Vines for Sun Exposure and Quality of the Crop

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  1. Managing Vines for Sun Exposure and Quality of the Crop Tom Plocher www.petitepearlplus.com

  2. The Holy Grail: Uniformity of the Crop Bad Vine Management Over ripe berries: • High alcohol • Odd flavors (foxy; robitussin) • Flat and flabby (acid blown out) Data from Zelma Long, Simi Vineyards Good Vine Management Under ripe berries: • High malic acid (sharp) • Herbaceous • ”Green” Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  3. Our Mission as Growers • Train for good sun exposure • Prune for balance between crop and vegetation • Position shoots for sun exposure • Remove weak shoots and suckers • Remove basal leaves around clusters • Cluster thin as necessary to control crop • Hedge to remove overhanging, shading and superfluous foliage Narrow the Berry Distribution: Eliminate the underripe and overripe Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  4. Pruning and Training Terminology • Dormant bud- the point from which green shoots grow in the spring • Shoot- A green growth from a bud having leaves, tendrils and fruit • Cane- The mature woody shoot after leaf fall • Spur- A cane pruned very short (4 or fewer buds) • Trunk- the permanent above-ground stem of the vine • Cordon-Permanent horizontal extension of the trunk along Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  5. What Training System? • Winter protection? • How does the vine want to grow? • Are the vines moderately or extremely vigorous? Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  6. Selecting a training system Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  7. Training for Sun Exposure:Top Wire Cordon • Trunk to top wire at 6 ft. • Horizontal top wire cordons • 1-3 bud spurs spaced evenly on each cordon • Shoots grow out and droop • Fruit is above foliage • Must be combed Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  8. Training for Sun Exposure:Top Wire Cordon System Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  9. Training for Sun Exposure:Top Wire Cordon System ++++ Excellent sun exposure Maximize amount of old wood Easy to spray and harvest Especially adapted to vines that naturally droop _ _ Susceptible to wind breakage Two years to re-grow cordons Requires shoot combing Effect on Quality X lower acidity X higher sugar X higher anthocyanins X higher PVTs X less herbaceousness Better Uniformity Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  10. Training for Sun Exposure The Geneva Double Curtain • Crossarms 4 ft wide • Bilateral cordons on side wires • 1-3 bud spurs spaced evenly on each cordon • Shoots grow out and droop • Fruit is above foliage • Must be combed Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  11. On the plus side: Accomodates high vigor and production Doubles length of cordon/canopy without increasing shading Excellent sun exposure for fruit and basal portion of shoots Quick and simple to prune Adapted to mechanical harvesting On the minus side: Large amount of perennial wood exposed to winter cold Needs to be combed and shoots positioned GDC: pros and cons Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  12. Training for Sun ExposureVertical Shoot Positioning • Low bilateral cordon at 30” to 36” • 3 pairs of catch wires at 48, 60 and 72” • 1 to 3 bud spurs spaced evenly along cordon • Vines need to be shoot positioned and hedged Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  13. Training for Sun ExposureVertical Shoot Positioning Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  14. Training for Sun Exposure:Vertical Shoot Positioning +++++ Takes advantage of strong upright growth habit of certain varieties Fruit is all in one zone for easier harvest If well managed, pretty good sun Quick to prune _ _ _ Lots of perennial wood exposed to winter cold Requires significant amount of management during the growing season (shoot positioning and hedging) Effect on Quality X lower acidity X higher sugar X higher anthocyanins X higher PVTs X less herbaceousness Better Uniformity Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  15. Pruning for Balance Between Crop and Vegetation Creative pruning Formulas Shoots per meter of canopy (20 shoots/m for low-medium vigor vines; Reynolds) Pruning Weight (3.2-5.5 kg of fruit per 1/2kg of prunings; Reynolds) Estimate crop weight ( Crop = cluster weight x #clusters/node x # nodes) Effects on quality X lower acidity X higher sugar higher anthocyanins higher PVTs X less herbaceousness Better Uniformity Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  16. How many buds should I leave?Estimate bud count from pruning weight • Timeworn formula for hybrids • 20 buds for 1st pound of prunings + • 10 buds for each additional pound • Too conservative for varieties with small clusters (DM 8521-1; Sabrevois) • Most accurate for large-clustered varieties • Who wants to weigh all those prunings anyway? Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  17. How many buds should I leave?Estimate from desired crop weight • Mature vine should produce 10-15 lbs of fruit • Cluster weight of a variety is known • How many clusters add up to 10-15 lbs of fruit? • How many clusters per shoot? Desired Crop (14 lbs) Cluster weight (.25 lb) X clusters per shoot (2) =28 buds Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  18. How many buds should I leave?Shoots per meter How many shoots can I have growing on a vine in a given amount of space on the trellis and still have good exposure of fruit and foliage? A good starting point is to plan for 20 shoots per meter of cordon on varieties with average vigor. Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  19. Observe, record, adjust…. Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  20. Shoot Positioning Problem • Even well-pruned and well-trained vines have the potential to “run amuck” with disorderly early season shoot growth. • Shoots grow laterally to shade each other and the clusters Solution Shoot positioning and shoot combing Effects on quality X lower acidity X higher sugar higher anthocyanins higher PVTs X less herbaceousness When? Before tendrils become thigmotropic but not so early that they break easily Better Uniformity Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  21. Remove Weak Shoots and Suckers Problem Weak shoots produce poorly ripened fruit, low in color and phenols, high in herbaceousness Solution Remove interior shoots; also sprouts from trunk buds, winter-injured wood, and tertiary buds Effects on quality X lower acidity X higher sugar X higher anthocyanins X higher PVTs X less herbaceousness Better Uniformity Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  22. Remove Basal Leaves Question Given good foliage exposure to the sun, does it really matter if the fruit is exposed, as well? Answer Emphatically, YES. (Reynolds, Koblet, Morrison) How? Remove bottom two leaves, including those just opposite the clusters. Try to achieve about 60% exposure. Effects on quality lower acidity higher sugar X higher anthocyanins X higher PVTs (15-50% greater) X less herbaceousness When? Two weeks after bloom (not later, especially in hot climates) Better Uniformity Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  23. Cluster Thinning Problem • Dormant pruning is an imprecise business due to: 1) the vagaries of new varieties and 2) difficulty in estimating winter injury • So........we tend to prune generously, and the vine sets too much fruit. Solution: Adjust crop load by cluster thinning When? Immediately after bloom Effects on quality X lower acidity X higher sugar higher anthocyanins higher PVTs (15-50% greater) less herbaceousness Better Uniformity Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  24. Hedging Problem • Only 15 leaves needed to ripen fruit • Beyond this, leaves only direct photosynthate away from fruit. (or, in vertical canopies, shoots droop over and shade fruit) • Vines usually produce more than 15 leaves per shoot, especially high vigor vines Solution Trim shoots beyond 15th node When? 2 weeks before veraison Effects on quality lower acidity higher sugar higher anthocyanins X higher PVTs (15-50% greater) less herbaceousness Better Uniformity Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  25. Summary: Management and Quality Effects Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  26. Evaluating how you did Use Richard Smart’s vineyard scorecard Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  27. Vineyard scorecard for assessing vine potential to produce quality winegrapes. Richard Smart, 1990 Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  28. Possibility of automating vine canopy assessment Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

  29. Tom Plocher, Petitepearlplus.com

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